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Adapted for the Web from a Lunch-Time Session presentation on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2006 at the ASHA Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.
New Accreditation Standards for Implementation January 1, 2008
The CAA's Mission is to:
promote excellence in graduate education in audiology and speech-language pathology through a peer reviewed process of establishing and implementing accreditation standards that encourage continuous quality improvement.
The CAA's Charge is to:
- formulate standards for the accreditation of graduate educational programs that provide entry-level professional preparation in audiology or speech‑language pathology;
- evaluate programs that voluntarily apply for accreditation within the context of their own mission;
- grant certificates and recognize those programs deemed to have fulfilled requirements for accreditation;
- maintain a registry of holders of such certificates;
- prepare and furnish to appropriate persons and agencies lists of accredited programs.
Standards Development Process
- CAA conducts a comprehensive review of standards every 5-8 years
- May or may not result in changes to standards
- Includes widespread peer review of any proposed changes
- Intermittent reviews may be conducted and modifications made to the standards or implementation language, as warranted
- CAA Subcommittee on Standards is comprised of:
- CAA Chair
- 2 Audiologists
- 2 Speech-Language Pathologists
- Public Member
Peer Review
Input sought from all stakeholders:
- Academic programs & faculty
- CAA site visitors
- Practitioners
- Clinical supervisors
- Students
- CAPCSD
- ASHA Legislative Council, boards & committees
- Related professional organizations
- State regulatory agencies
- State associations
Accreditation Standards History
- 1964 – 1st accreditation of master's level programs in audiology & SLP
- 1992 – Standards for Accreditation implemented by ESB
- 1996 – eliminated 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio
- 1999 – CAA implemented its 1st set of Standards after its transition as a semi-autonomous body
- 2004 – delineated audiology curricular requirements for master's vs. clinical doctoral programs
- 2008 – Implementation date for CAA's 2nd set of standards
Milestones in Current Standards Review
- 2003: Review process began
- 2005: Widespread peer review of draft standards
- 2006 May-June: Additional widespread peer review on draft Std. 3.0 Curriculum
- 2006 July: CAA approved new accreditation standards
- 2006 Oct-Nov: Final standards published & distributed
- 2008 January 1: Implementation of new standards
Required Standards
- Some standards/categories are required as a recognized agency, including:
- Curricula
- Success related to student achievement
- Faculty
- Resources - fiscal, facilities, equipment
- Admissions & public information
- Complaints
Areas of Major Changes in 2008 Standards
- Added new standard category – "Assessment"
- Divided Curriculum into 2 components:
- 3.0A Audiology
- 3.0B Speech-Language Pathology
- Emphasis on quality indicators
- Explicit knowledge & skill expectations
- Administrative Changes - many edits for clarification, improved organization
Standard 1.0 – Administrative Structure and Governance
- 7 standards
- Std.1.2 - Program's mission, goals, and objectives are consistent with "CAA" (rather than "ASHA recognized") standards for entry into practice
- New Std.1.3 - "The program develops and implements a long-term strategic plan."
- Std. 1.5 – Maintained that person responsible for the professional education program holds "graduate" degree in profession
- Changed it back from "doctoral" degree in response to peer input after first draft
- Added requirement that a regular evaluation process must document effective leadership
Standard 2.0 - Faculty
- 3 standards
- Std. 2.1 – All faculty, including all individuals providing clinical supervision, are qualified to provide assigned academic and clinical education
- Both on-site and off-site supervisors must hold appropriate professional credentials (rather than only CCC) in professional area
- Doctoral faculty must teach academic content of program
- Removed minimum supervisor experience & continued professional development language from earlier draft, based on peer input
- "Faculty" Definition – includes faculty members (tenure-track and non-tenure track), lecturers, clinical supervisors, and all other instructional staff members who are employees of the university/program.
- Std. 2.2 Sufficiency of Faculty
- Maintains sufficient number of full-time doctoral faculty to meet the teaching, research, and service needs
- Emphasis on research-qualified faculty (e.g., PhD)
Standard 3.0A – Audiology Curriculum
- Additional Peer Review Obtained May-June 2006
- 8 standards
- Std. 3.1A -
- No longer addresses Master's level programs in audiology (CAA will cease accrediting master's programs in audiology as of 12/31/06)
- Curriculum prepares students in full breadth and depth of scope of practice in Audiology rather than "sufficient to permit students to meet ASHA-recognized national standards for entry into professional practice"
- Must include sufficient didactic coursework...typically requires 4 years of graduate education
- Eliminates minimum semester credit hours for clinical doctoral program
- Curriculum should support students' acquisition of listed knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
- Encourages creativity and flexibility in designing a program of study that is consistent with program's own stated mission
- Clinical experiences must comprise at least 25% of the program, and a minimum of 12 months FTE, interspersed throughout program
- Program responsible for designing, administering, and evaluating all clinical education for each student
- 3.3A – Science & Research
- Clarifies research exposure and scholarship expectations for clinical doctoral programs;
- "Knowledgeable consumers of research literature"
- 3.6A – Strengthens expectations for advising and program's monitoring of clinical placements
- 3.8A – New standard - All curriculum standards must be met regardless of delivery mode
Standard 3.0B – SLP Curriculum
- Additional Peer Review Obtained (May-June 2006)
- 8 standards
- Std. 3.1B
- Curriculum prepares students in full breadth and depth of scope of practice in SLP
- rather than "sufficient to permit students to meet ASHA-recognized national standards for entry into professional practice"
- Sufficient program to achieve knowledge and skills outcomes...Typically two years of graduate education
- Eliminates minimum credit hours
- Encourages creativity and flexibility in designing a program of study that is consistent with program's own mission
- Added knowledge and skills outcomes from skills validation study
- Program responsible for designing, administering, and evaluating all clinical education for each student
- 3.3B – Science & Research
- Clarifies research exposure and scholarship expectations for clinical master's programs;
- "Knowledgeable consumers of research literature"
- 3.6B – Strengthens expectations for advising and program's monitoring of clinical placements
- 3.8B – New standard - All curriculum standards must be met regardless of delivery mode
Standard 4.0 - Students
- 5 standards
- Std. 4.1 – Admissions criteria
- Must meet or exceed institution's criteria and be appropriate for degree being offered
- Std. 4.2 – Reasonable adaptations
- Program should provide policy regarding proficiency in English and/or other languages of service delivery and all other performance expectations for clinical practice competencies
- New Std. 4.5 – All Student standards must be met, regardless of mode of curriculum delivery
- Students in DE, etc. are held to equivalent standards and afforded equivalent access to advising, support services, and resources
Standard 5.0 - Assessment
- New Standard Section
- 4 standards
- Std. 5.1 – Program conducts formative and summative assessments of student performance (1999 Std. 1.6), including feedback and remediation options
- Std. 5.2 – Program documents student progress (1999 Std. 1.7)
- Std. 5.3 – Program conducts regular and ongoing assessments of program effectiveness
- Emphasizes using assessment results for program improvement (not sufficient to just collect data)
- Std. 5.4 – New standard - Program regularly evaluates all faculty members and uses results for continuous improvement
Standard 6.0 – Program Resources
- 4 standards
- No substantive changes in content
So, does this mean extra work for me? - Some Good News!
- The Higher Education data System (HES), designed in collaboration with CAPCSD, will make data input easier and less redundant
- HES will be the primary means of submitting 2008 accreditation documentation
- Updated information to document compliance with the new standards will be requested as an addendum to your 2008 annual report
- We are working hard to minimize your reporting burden
Implementation schedule
- 2006 Oct-Nov: Final standards published & distributed to programs, stakeholders
- April 2007: Update at CAPCSD conference on program reporting requirements
- 2008 January 1: Implementation date for new standards
2008 - CAA's Commitment to high quality academic programs enters a new generation of standards
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